Korean Food Experience

When the assignment was first presented to me, I was really excited because I love to cook even though I am not the best at it. Some dishes I am planning to make for my family are based on Vietnamese dishes my father and relatives have cooked for my family in the past. The stir fried noodles would be my dad’s recipe that he would always make for a party when he needs something quick and easy. The dessert would be this colorful jelly cake that my aunt would always make for my birthday whenever I am in Florida. This connects to my faith journey by giving back to my family for all they have done for me and through that, I am giving back to God, making my relationship with Him and my family stronger.

“I am Korean. South Korean to be exact.” These were the words I would always use to describe myself during new encounters. My race seemed to be what people noticed about me first. Whether I was at a leadership conference, church, or cross country event, there was always someone asking where I was from. For this reason, being an immigrant from Korea has been a big part of my identity as an individual and student.

The food in South Korea is based heavily on rice. As with many Asian cultures rice is a staple, and is served with every meal. Along with rice vegetables, fish, and meat make up most of the meals consumed throughout the country. Kimchi, a cabbage based dish, is also a very common item to find a plate while dining in South Korea. According to the official tourism website for South Korea, “food is a very important part of Korean culture, and Koreans pay great attention to the way in which food is served” (Types of Korean Food, n.d.). If asked many people foreign to the United States might say that the traditional American food consist of hamburgers and french fried. While this is a common dish in the U.S., there are many other traditional foods in the United States. Much like other large countries, traditional foods is based largely on the region. For example a common food in the southern states could consist of barbecue, fried chicken and grits. In the New England region of the U.S. seafood is a staple. The food of both countries develop through the culture that is

The alternative medicine of Korean culture is called, Korean Oriental medicine (KOM). “It refers to the medicine native to Korea developed over a period of nearly two thousand years after being grafted with traditional Chinese medicine. It had been called traditional Korean medicine (TKM) since 1986 until recently. Before that, it was simply referred to as traditional Oriental medicine” (Republic of Korea, 2012). Chinese medicine was first introduced to Korea, during the Three Kingdoms period (57 B.C. – 668). It was followed by Goryeo Dynasty (918-1392) and the Joseon Dynasty (1392 – 1910) and developed its own unique nature as Korean Oriental Medicine. This traditional medicine perceives human body as a small universe and is based on the concept of “yin” and “yang”. According to this concept, it sees every object in the universe in two opposing forces, “such as the sun and moon, summer and winter, north and south, and male and female. It studies o-haeng, or the five phases or elements comprising the universe: geum (metal and rock), mok (wood), su (water), hwa (fire), and to (earth). It also studies the process of yuk-gi, or the Six Atmospheric Influences, in the realm of natural science, which are pung (wind), han (cold), yeol (heat), hwa (fire), seup (humidity), and jo (dryness). Western medicine focuses on the human body’s internal organs and is based on anatomy and cytology. It tends to find the cause of illness

Previous research reveals that Korean-Americans are considered the most separated from the rest of the society, both culturally and ethnically. Study used Berry (1997)’s strategies of assimilation, integration, separation and marginalization and three main dimensions of cultural orientations; language, identity and behaviors (Choi et al. 2014). Study included youth who are highly integrated in society; born in the US or immigrated at a young age; proficient in both English and mainstream behavior practices whereas their parents known to be culturally separated and the family socialization processes largely Korean (combination of high acculturation and high enculturation, characterizing integration). Researchers used years of residence and nativity

While debating the food cultures I wanted to compare for this project, I reflected on my childhood and the various types of food and how they were prepared. The personal food culture that I selected is southern food, also known as “Soul Food” in the South. I chose this specific culture of food because I can make a connection to it. I grew up in a small town in Mississippi and most Sundays, my family would drive to my grandmother’s house. Our meals consisted of foods such as like fried chicken, country fried steak, cornbread, black eyes peas, butter beans, and mashed potatoes. An important tradition growing up in my family was fellowship and sharing our meals together. We also have a family reunion each year. These traditions influenced my

The most fascinating thing about my section is that I got to comprehend how unique the main dishes are. Effort is put into each dish, not only trying to make it look pleasing but enjoyable. So much time is put into each and every dish. In this project, not only did I get to ascertain about the Mexican food, but I got to learn most of the culture about music and dance. So much patience and time are put into the food, all the ingredients are what spices up the food. In the culture of music and dance, dances are what symbolize Mexico’s unity and independence. The first challenge we encountered was not being able to manage a coordinating schedule. As a group working together is suppose to be accomplished outside class time which requires members to organize busy schedules in order to have meetings. In my perspective, I feel as if my group could have done a lot better by having numerous of meetings, instead of

There are some images associated with Korean food, but the most well- known Korean food is absolutely Kim-chi. Kim-chi is a traditional fermented Korean food. According to the Health Magazine, Kim-chi is one of the top 5 healthiest foods in the world. It has full of Vitamins A, B and C. But since it is a fermented food, its biggest benefit is their healthy bacteria which are called lactobacilli.(health.com) So, Kim-chi by itself is just a pack of lots of good stuff and we can see our ancestor’s wisdom of keeping their body healthy from food. From the early stage that Korea has been settled down, Kim-chi has been served on Koreans’

South Korea loves sport, sport is not only a popular physical activity but is a significant social practice. Sport operates as an important cultural resource and produces and disseminates nationalism. Indeed, in recent years, south korea has shown competence in hosting, playing, and managing sport. South Korean athletes have created notable results at major international sport events. For example, since 1984, the national Summer Olympic team has unfailingly been ranked in the top 10 nations on the medal table, with the only exception being the 2000 Sydney Olympic Games. The country has also produced a number of major world sporting events, including hosting

So why are the majority of Koreans so skinny? The answer is simple. Korean food is comprised mainly of vegetables. Although they are consuming it in large quantities, it is all healthy.

Food brings everyone together no matter what culture you are in. Culture is a way of life shared by a group of people, beliefs, customs, symbols and etc. Many families can spend time with each other by preparing and eating dinner at the table, going out for dinner or just celebrating holidays.

South Korea is one of the most homogeneous countries in the world, in which it has its own culture, language, and customs that are different from other Asian countries. In South Korea, the citizens greatly value hard work, filial piety, and humility in their daily lives. South Koreans are very proud people in which they pride themselves in their traditional culture and their financial success.

In South Korea, the Korean language is the most frequently used language and the Koreans use Hangul as the main writing system. Quoted from kwintessential.co.uk, “The Korean language is spoken by more than 65 million people living on the peninsula and its outlying islands as well as 5.5 million Koreans living in other parts of the world.  The fact that all Koreans speak and write the same language has been a crucial factor in their strong national identity.” In the present time, Korea boasts many dialects, including the standard dialect used in Seoul and central areas. Even

I was the “funny guy” in my clique of high school friends. Ever since I learned to read English, I enjoyed reading and collecting joke books. I exhausted every single joke book from the small community library in town. Riddles, jokes about animals and wildlife, reasons why I didn’t do my homework, lawyer jokes, and later on, ethnic jokes. I knew they were funny, but I wanted more. Perhaps it was my lack of physical achievements that made me obsess with a need to entertain my peers.

South Korean are very cautious in consuming their food or buying certain products. Typical Korean cuisine usually consist of ‘kimchi’ (fermented cabbage), ‘gochujang’ (fermented chili sauce), less salt, less sugar, and less condiments because it considered bad for health. In terms of other